Hope has a little bit of everything: Korean film stalwarts Hwang Jung-min and Jo In-Sung, Hoyeon (say less), breathtaking set pieces, original art design, a Hollywood power couple, and, oh yeah, giant 8-foot-tall aliens.
Yes, you read that correctly. Korean auteur Na Hong-Jin is back with a film that is good, bad, original, and confounding. It’s been a decade since his seminal horror classic, The Wailing (a must-watch), a film that stitched together genres into something daring and wholly unique. Ten years away did little to dampen Na’s ambition, but it might’ve dulled his sense of storytelling. Have a watch of our quick review below.
While it sounds like we were quite down on Hope, that’s because there is something really cool in this messy 156 minutes of a film. The first third of the film is filled with so much dread and suspense that once the action does let rip, the release is downright euphoric. Every character who pops in and out of Hope’s interwoven plot either leaves a strong impression or, at the very least, a bloodstain smeared across asphalt. It’s hard not to point out the bad when it’s weighing down so much good.
After leaving the press screening, I had so many plot and thematic questions left unanswered. Where did the aliens come from? Is this a critique on small-town xenophobia? Exactly who is chasing who? Where did all the guns and bullets come from? Unfortunately, my queries will be left unaddressed for at least a couple of years. Frustratingly, the film concludes on a cliffhanger rather than an actual ending. For the meantime, I’ll have to bide my time and live in hope until Hope 2.
Special thanks to NIXCO and Madman Entertainment. ‘Hope’ is in cinemas now. Despite our qualms, we love a big swing over here on Yelllowbelly. Don’t miss this one of the big screen.
